You know that feeling when a story finally fills in the one gap you were almost too afraid to look at? That’s basically the experience of watching All Might Rising. It’s short. It’s brutal. Honestly, it’s probably the most essential piece of My Hero Academia lore that people still manage to skip because they think it’s just a "promotional" OVA.
It isn't.
Released originally as a tie-in for the Two Heroes movie, this nine-minute special (and the two-page manga chapter by Kohei Horikoshi it’s based on) does more heavy lifting for Toshinori Yagi’s character than three full seasons of the main show combined. We’ve always known All Might as the "Symbol of Peace." We’ve seen him as the invincible hero and the withered mentor. But All Might Rising is where we actually see him as a terrified, grieving kid. It’s the origin of the smile, and it’s way darker than the Saturday-morning-cartoon vibes of the early seasons would lead you to believe.
The Tragedy of Nana Shimura and the One For All Burden
The core of All Might Rising is the relationship between Toshinori and his mentor, Nana Shimura. If you’ve followed the series, you know she died. You know she was Shigaraki’s grandmother. But seeing the actual moment of her death changes how you view All Might’s entire philosophy.
In the OVA, we see a younger, leaner Toshinori. He’s not the hulking mass of muscle yet. He’s a student. Gran Torino is there too, looking significantly more intimidating than the retired old man we meet in the training arc. The fight against All For One in this special isn't some glorious battle. It’s a desperate, one-sided slaughter. Nana Shimura makes the ultimate sacrifice to let her student escape, and the scream Toshinori lets out as Gran Torino drags him away is haunting.
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It’s worth noting that Horikoshi specifically drew the manga version of this to show the "humanity" of heroes. They aren't just symbols; they’re people who have to make impossible choices in seconds. Nana chose the future over her own life, and that choice is what forged the All Might we know.
Why the "Rising" Title Actually Matters
Most people assume "Rising" is just a cool-sounding word creators tack onto anime movies. In this context, it’s literal. It refers to the moment Toshinori had to rise above his own grief to become something that wasn't human.
Think about it.
After Nana’s death, Toshinori didn't just go to class. He left Japan. He went to America. He spent years building a persona that could never show fear because he knew exactly what happened when a hero looked vulnerable. The "Symbol of Peace" wasn't born out of a desire for fame. It was born out of the trauma of watching his mother figure get pulverized by the ultimate evil. All Might Rising proves that his smile is a mask—a very intentional, very heavy mask.
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Realism in Animation: Bones Pulling No Punches
Studio Bones handled the animation for this, and you can tell they saved a specific part of the budget for the facial expressions. In the main series, the art is often clean and vibrant. In All Might Rising, the shadows are deeper. There’s a grit to it.
When All For One speaks, he doesn't sound like a cartoon villain. He sounds like an inevitability. The contrast between Nana’s grace and the sheer brutality of the environment is striking. If you’re a fan of the technical side of anime, keep an eye on the debris physics and the way the "One For All" sparks are drawn here. They look more unstable, less controlled. It reflects Toshinori’s state of mind. He hasn't mastered the power yet. He’s just a vessel holding onto a dying wish.
What Most Fans Get Wrong About the Timeline
There’s often a bit of confusion about where this fits. All Might Rising takes place roughly 40 years before the start of the main series.
- Toshinori is a teenager at U.A. High School.
- Nana Shimura is the 7th user of One For All.
- Gran Torino is in his prime as a teacher.
- All For One is at the height of his shadow-government power.
A lot of casual viewers think All Might was always the strongest. This OVA shows he started as a Quirkless nobody who was actually losing for a long time. It recontextualizes his relationship with Izuku Midoriya. When All Might looks at Deku, he isn't just seeing a successor; he’s seeing the version of himself that stood on that roof with Nana, before the world broke him.
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The Gran Torino Connection
One of the best parts of this special is seeing Gran Torino’s role. In the main series, he’s a bit of a comic relief character at times—the "yoda" archetype. But in All Might Rising, he is the pragmatist. He is the one who has to punch Toshinori in the face to keep him from running back into certain death. It’s a brutal kind of love. It explains why All Might is still low-key terrified of the old man decades later. Their bond was forged in blood and failure, not just training exercises.
How to Actually Watch It (and Read It)
If you’re looking for the full experience, don't just watch the nine-minute OVA. You need to find the "Volume 0" manga chapter. It was a limited-edition giveaway for people who saw Two Heroes in Japanese theaters, but it’s been reprinted in various fan books and digital collections since.
The manga version has a few specific panels—specifically Nana’s final smile—that hit different than the animation. Horikoshi’s line work is notoriously detailed when he wants to convey despair, and this is his peak "suffering" art.
Actionable Takeaways for MHA Completionists
If you want to truly understand the DNA of My Hero Academia, you can't treat this as optional filler. It’s the skeleton the whole story hangs on.
- Watch the OVA before re-watching the Kamino Ward fight. When All Might says "Goodbye, All For One" in Season 3, it hits ten times harder once you've seen the "Rising" flashback. You realize he’s been waiting 40 years to say that.
- Compare the capes. Notice how All Might’s cape in his "Golden Age" costume is a direct homage to Nana’s. He’s literally wrapping himself in her memory every time he goes to work.
- Analyze the Quirkless factor. Remember that Nana chose Toshinori even though he had no power. This validates the entire premise of the series. It’s not about the Quirk; it’s about the "Heroic Spirit" that Nana saw in a kid who had nothing but a dream.
- Check out the "All Might: Rising" official soundtrack. The score by Yuki Hayashi for these nine minutes is incredibly melancholic compared to the upbeat "You Say Run." It’s a great study in how music shifts the tone of a franchise.
The story of All Might isn't a superhero story. It’s a ghost story. He spent his entire career being haunted by a woman he couldn't save, trying to build a world where no one else would have to feel that way. All Might Rising is the moment the haunting started. If you haven't seen it, go find it. It'll make you look at that "Symbol of Peace" smile and see the tragedy hiding behind the teeth.